Where were hookahs first used?

It is said that hookahs in a sophisticated fashion were first used in Persia during the reign of Shah Jamashap, but gypsies and bedouin tribes used it in a crude form since ancient times all over West Asia. In ancient India, tobacco smoking was common, and the chillum and hookah were popular. It was made from empty coconut shells and hollow bamboo shoots. Its Sanskrit name was ‘narikela’. It was a sign of aristocratic living during the reign of Akbar. It was introduced to Akbar by Abul Fazel Gilani, a native of Persia.